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Vent: Tried using isopropyl alcohol to clean a shutter blade assembly
Picked up a Canon AE-1 with sticky shutter blades last week and figured a quick swab of 91% isopropyl would do the trick. Left the blades looking clean but now the shutter sticks open at 1/1000 every third shot, guessing the alcohol messed with the tiny bit of damping grease on the pivot. Has anyone else wrecked a shutter this way or is there a cleaner that actually works on these old Copal leaf shutters?
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wendygrant25d ago
oh man, I totally did the exact same thing with a Minolta Hi-Matic 7s last year. I used 91% on the shutter blades and they looked beautiful for like two days, then started sticking at slow speeds. I think the alcohol strips away all the factory lubrication that nobody tells you is essential. I ended up having to use a tiny bit of sewing machine oil on a toothpick tip just on the pivots, then working the shutter for like twenty minutes straight to get it moving right again. Still not perfect at 1/500 though, those old Copal shutters are super sensitive.
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